Run
by FHT3rdandCo
Summary: Hinata nodded, there were reasons why she was here and every so once in a while those same reasons would keep her from being aloud to go outside. [SasuHina, serious, AU, R&R]
1. Still Dreaming

(A/N: More fanfiction that was collecting dust… X3 One of the reasons I love the Sasuke an' Hinata section is because I can't stay on top of the list for more than a few hour it's updated so often XD it's like, 'wow! I posted so much today, I must be hogging the front page! …nope… nevermind.' Lol.

Mou, I hope you guys enjoy and stuff… this is one of my darker stories! Yay!)

* * *

**Run**

_Still Dreaming  
_

"I wish only for death…" it was whispered, scarily quiet, to quiet.

She raised her face to look at the figure, her own usually bright face looking sickly pale in the moonlight…

…no, not 'the moonlight'… _this_ moonlight.

'_This place is not normal…_' but she knew that already though… the figure hissing brought her back to reality, "Why? Why is it you want death?" her own voice was whispered quietly, as if it was the wind. She found herself shocked she didn't stutter, but didn't show her surprise outwardly.

The creature seemed surprised to receive an answer, "HINATA!" it screamed, a panicked look coming to its face, "HINATA! _Hinata!_"

Hinata snapped awake, the first two screams had not suited the creature, as if they weren't his own, but that _last_ one…

She shivered and sat up, the dream fading into the back of her mind, something she was not likely to remember unless provoked.

"HINATA!!" Hinata jumped an inch in the air, how she had not noticed the incessant screaming and beating on her poor defenseless door until now, she did not know… "Coming anee-chan!"

Opening the door hurriedly she looked up shyly at the one who woke her, Kin smiled smugly at Hinata as a morning greeting and ushered her into the kitchen where a girl with orange hair was cooking…

"O-ohayo Moegi-chan." Hinata bowed slightly before sitting at the table, Kin and Moegi had _long_ since forbidden her cooking … it was all they could really do when they were gasping for breath after chugging down about a gallon of water…

"_I-it wasn't _that_ b-bad… was it?" Hinata stood nervously at the two, Kin was still gagging as Moegi faced her with a stern look…_

"We'll_ do the cooking from now on…"_

It had also become apparent she wasn't good at much in the kitchen when she had failed even the simplest tasks.

It _was_ cruel to phrase it so bluntly, but that was one of the things she loved about the two… they were honest. Regardless of someone's feelings, Kin would tell you _exactly_ how she felt, the good and the bad; Moegi was the same, though slightly less smug and often simply not realizing what she had said wrong… nor caring.

She smiled, they were an odd bunch.

"What'cha smiling 'bout Hinata-chan?" Moegi asked as she set the table, Hinata shook her head, smile still present.

"N-nothing really, ju-just thinking ab-about how lucky I-I am." Kin scoffed from the other room, she would _never_ understand that girl's optimism… though she did admire it a bit.

Hinata blinked, "Wh-where's Momichi-san?" he was often at the table with Hinata waiting for the other two to finish cooking, perhaps he had left for work early?

"Zabuza? I'm not sure. You know he keeps his door locked, so unless he comes out there's really no way of knowing where he is or what he's doing." Moegi commented as she headed back into the kitchen.

Kin exited the kitchen and sat down next to Hinata with an exhausted sigh, "Besides, he's a real class-A A.S.S.H.O.L.E., no need to bother worrying 'bout 'em."

"Glad to know you hold such a high opinion of me Kin."

Kin gave her signature smug smirk to the tall man who had apparently been standing behind them, "Only you, Zabby."

A vein popped on Zabuza's head at the nickname, but he stayed silent and broody as he sat across from Hinata, "Ohayo Hinata-hime."

"Oh-ohayo M-Momichi-san!" Zabuza had always made Hinata nervous, regardless of how many years she had known him.

It was over seven years that she had started living there, with Kin, Zabuza and Moegi. Moegi had been so small when she first came, but sooner rather than later had taken care of the cooking and some of the housework. Kin was the same as she was today, smug. She was an excellent chief, but didn't enjoy cooking much so only helped Moegi at times. Hinata remembered feeling so utterly useless, even someone as small as Moegi worked hard but she on the other hand didn't have many talents…

"_What _can_ you do?"_

Out of anyone else's mouth, it would have sounded like an insult. It probably _had_ sounded like an insult even… but knowing Kin as well as she did, she knew it was a question. And that was what she asked herself daily, what could she do? It wasn't a matter of doing what can't be done by her, but a matter of doing the best she could at what came to her naturally.

"You're lost in thought a lot today, aren't ya Imouto-chan." Kin's teasing voice brought her back to reality; Hinata had to agree it was weird to be pondering all of this all of a sudden…

'_Maybe something's gong to happen…?_'

"Hinata-hime." Hinata jerked her head in Zabuza's direction.

"H-hai, Momichi-san?"

Zabuza looked at her strait in the face, his ever present glare seeming just a little harsher than usual.

"Don't go outside today."

Hinata nodded, there were reasons why she was here and every so once in a while those same reasons would keep her from being aloud to go outside.

It was a cabin they lived in, surprisingly well insolated for how beat up it looked on both the inside and outside. Outside was a small wheat field surrounding the house, along with a tired old looking swing set on a tree; the house itself was placed in a valley, hills and mountains going on for as far as Hinata could see.

Every morning Zabuza, Kin and Moegi would leave. Zabuza for work, Kin and Moegi for school, leaving Hinata alone with her thoughts… she usually didn't think about much, she did the homework Zabuza assigned her before leaving, cleaned up any way she could and played in the wheat field…

"Hai. I-I understand."

Zabuza nodded once before Moegi entered again carrying the food. Kin helped set the table.

"Itadakimasu!" All but Zabuza chorused as they dug into the food.

* * *

(Ending Notes: I haven't edited this chapter so there are probably lots of mistakes and stuff… I would adore if you, my kind and loving reviewers, would point something out if you find an obvious mistake. Loves and kisses! Good night! 

Muse-chan going to bed.)


	2. Still Panicking

(A/N: Yay! Chapter two! X3 I finally got down to actually _writing_ something!

Now be a good reviewer and vote on what I should update next!)

* * *

**Run**

_Still Panicking_

She reminded herself that this isn't how she intended to die.

And that's all it took.

---

A sudden gust of wind picked up the hairs that refused to be restrained by her ribbon. A beautiful day had begun and she could feel it, the wind was refreshing, the air was calming, the sun was pleasantly warm… and a noise to her left informed her that the animals were basking in the wondrous beauty of the morning as well.

It was truly majestic to those who bothered to look.

She wasn't going to look though, it would be too troublesome. Besides, she was busy.

Doing what?

The thought suddenly struck her that she could not for the life of her recall what it was she was busy doing.

"_Hinata_!"

_That_ voice!

She turned her head and looked at the one that had spoken…

Hinata awoke with a jolt, shock running through every pour of her being. It took her moment or two before she realized where she was.

The roof seemed to have sunk a little and wind caused the walls on her left to indent slightly but it was the same house she had been in since the event.

_That_ event…

She sighed; she must have fallen asleep while reading…

It was one of those many boring days that Zabuza warned her against the outside, she always listened to Zabuza's warnings because he was the only one left…

…after all that had happened…

Her eyes drifted slowly to the window and the storm outside raged, inwardly she pondered when it had begun to rain so heavily. She recalled a light drizzle in the morning… but this was a horrific storm, she could see thunder crash against earth only yards away from her house.

Somehow she wasn't afraid in the least though, it could hit the house but nothing would happen. As long as she stayed inside and followed orders everything would be fine…

"_I'll kill you!"_

_The declaration caused her small frame to shake, terror attacking every inch of her being. They were fighting, all of them with each other and she hadn't a clue what to do._

_Her father's orders rang in her head like bells._

'_Do not move. Do not speak. Do not sob…'_

'…_I beg you, don't answer them… I can't lose you too.'_

_It was the first time her father had ever hugged her, the first time he'd acknowledged her presence in more than a passing manor._

_His hand was shaking when he left._

_And she listened. She always did as told._

_She tried not to breath, not to make too much sound, not to shake in horror._

_But the monsters that stood before her…_

_Never in her life had she ever seen anything quite like this. Demons, _demons_, crawled everywhere in the area._

_That was her only descriptions for them, they were demons… she couldn't begin to describe her horrification. It was beyond her imagination, she had seen paintings similar. Paintings of ogres, youkai, monsters, dragons… ancient, old…_

_Where had she seen the paintings? Memories flashed across her, suppressed as they were the images splattered in front of her eyes._

_A dark room._

_Her father's screams._

_Her mothers sickening smile…_

…_mother? She had a mother? But… she had no recollection of a…_

_The youkai moved, shifting enough to catch her eye._

_A horrified gasp escaped her before she could stop it and one face whirled to face hers._

"_Hiding, eh?" the nearly humanoid creature questioned, his brow where some hair would normally sit raising slightly._

_She didn't respond, she should follow orders!_

_There was a dark chuckle and what she could only assume was a male demon shook his head._

"_I'm not someone to trust, so don't." and darkness consumed her._

She gasped and clutched her chest desperately, an agonizing pain spread through her heart to her stomach.

Pain etched into her face, a striking expression complete and utter loss and fear. She panted and gripped a table top, she took mental note of the book that lay on it harmlessly, the glass of water she might tip over if she wasn't careful with the ice melting slowly, and finally her book mark that had fallen off and was slowly drifting to the floor.

"_Come outside."_

No… she had to follow orders.

The house shook again, branches smashed against the windows.

"_Hurry! Get out!"_

No! She clutched her head this time and crumpled to the ground, defiance and pain were all that registered in her garbled brain.

Tremors came, marking a small earthquake.

"_Run!"_

'_Never…_'

She started to feel drowsy, unable to contain it all anymore she unleashed what wanted to since the beginning; a long, piercing scream.

The windows shattered and she knew she hadn't followed orders correctly.

Bloodlust attacked the inside of the room like a knife, shivers went down her spine and a voice she knew only she would hear insisted upon escaping.

Her defenses withered and she stood shakily.

If something were to happen Zabuza had given her strict orders on what to do, but she couldn't for the life of her remember what they were… she could hear Kin and Moegi screaming but she couldn't make out what they were attempting to say or even if it was a voice in her head or not.

Zabuza'a masculine voice cut through a lot of the noise but still she could not make out what they were saying…

She squeezed her eyes shut, was she imagining it all? What was happening?

Shattered class whipped around the room, one of the smaller pieces slashing across her cheek. Blood slowly oozed down her cheek, tracing her jaw and dripping down.

_Drip…_

She couldn't think of anything else _but_ the drops of blood falling from her chin. She could hear them as they hit the floor.

_Drip…_

'_I know this sound…_'

It was familiar, there was no denying it. When? Where?

A piece of roof crumpled and hit the floor four feet to her right, a support beam fell two feet in front of her. Dust clouded everywhere.

She could _see_ things happening, the room was shattering everywhere but that wasn't what she was seeing.

"Youkai…"

She heard something above her and she knew the next part of the ceiling to crash against the ground would land on her first.

Still her mind merely drifted to the dream she had that morning.

"_Hinata!"_

She_ knew_ the voice, she _loved_ the voice, she _hated_ the voice, she couldn't begin to express the emotions raging…

'_Why?_'

She was confused.

What was different today? Out of all the years she'd been here, what was so different about today that everything would crumble into destruction?

Was it the dream?

The voice?

Her scream?

She could still hear her roommates, her friends, her _family_ screaming for her, yelling words she couldn't understand.

A broken window was in front of her and she caught sigh of a movement outside.

She rushed towards the window, the ceiling that had been crumpling above her smashing against the ground in her wake. She didn't care, her eyes followed the quick movements until they went to high for her to spot, her eyes darted to a hole in the roof and she saw it perfectly.

Zabuza. He was fighting someone and he looked far from human at the moment.

Worry bubbled inside her chest and she frantically searched with her eyes for heads or tails of either of her female roommates.

Nothing… no one.

A piercing scream later and she knew Kin was in some sort of pain. Another sound reached her ears, that of Moegi calling out… something. She couldn't tell, some other part of the house hit the floor and muffled the girl's words.

It was Kin's voice again suddenly and for the first time since the beginning of this nonsense she could make it out…

…but she couldn't. The words Kin was spitting out were foreign, half of her contemplated a different language but she knew that wasn't it. The way her voice doubled and the words she spoke…

'_Magic…_'

The house was crumpling, whipped up in some horrific sort of hell that was sucking her in.

Is this a dream? She couldn't tell.

Should she leave the house? Leave _them_? She would die if she stayed…

…but she _could not_ leave, not when Zabuza told her not to…

And that's when it all went black.

* * *

(Ending Notes: Miserable chapter, I know. I was bored and semi inspired, I can only hope this didn't turn out as bad as I think it did… it seems too sudden and rather brash in my opinion but hey, I try! X3

If there are any obvious mistakes or anything particularly annoyingly out of place tell me and I'll see what I can do(assuming, of course, that I didn't do it on purpose).

Have a fantastic day!

-On a sorta vacation Muse-chan!)


	3. Still Waking

(A/N: …and then the monkey said, "Ohh! You went there!" and I was like, "Or did I?" and then the monkey said, "Your mom did!" and I was like, "Clowns!" and the monkey went…

"Touché." And we all lived happily ever after.

Now, on with the _real_ story!)

* * *

**Run**

_Still Waking_

A sudden shift in the air flow alerted the birds that something was coming; the hideously dark aura was what alerted them that it wasn't something pleasant.

As the birds attempted to make a quick getaway one Hyuuga Neji's eyes drifted to their retreating forms, careful to observe their panicked movements and the way their winds beat the air harsher than they normally would require to.

He brought his gaze back to where his little sister sat.

"Hanabi-sama."

She looked up vaguely, pearl eyes shining dully in the morning light.

"Hai?"

He didn't hesitate to answer, his voice keeping its controlled tone when he spoke, "They're coming."

She didn't seem surprised and merely nodded, "…hai."

A small tremor went through the area and both wide white eyes looked to the sky where a figure now stood.

Some might have come to this scene and gasped in horror, exclaiming oh so brightly that 'he can fly!', the two present however had expected nothing less from the demonic presence above them.

Also, the sand collected below the figure was another huge hint as to why they were air born.

Piercing teal eyes crashed violently against the younger Hyuuga's violet orbs. She looked away and the connection broke with as much animosity in the air as from the beginning. The older of the two contained by the laws of gravity adjusted his stance to stand in front of his younger sibling.

"What are you doing here?"

Yes, they had been expecting someone…

…but anyone who searched out Hanabi's shocked and hurt eyes would know immediately that they weren't expecting Shukaku's bonded.

Sabaku No Gaara.

---

A disturbing wind was what woke her. It held a chill and words that she wasn't ready to admit she understood.

What brought her to the realm of consciousness however was quite a bit more… blunt.

She jumped and sputtered as the cold water sent goose-bumps up and down her arms. Shivering and shocked she brought her gaze to someone she truly didn't recognize.

Cold and calculating maroon eyes hidden behind glasses eyed her carefully. A darker, slightly browner color of red flowed down in locks of hair from her shoulders in a odd style, one side short and un-kept while the other was long and clearly taken care of.

Oddly enough, the style worked for her.

"You're awake?" Her voice was blunt, straight forward and hinted on girlish.

Hinata nodded dumbly, slightly unable to take in so much so fast, where was the house? Where was she?

"Good. Do you mind explaining what you are doing here?"

She honestly would have loved to, her eyes soaked in grass below her and a pleasant two story house behind the girl. A pool was sitting several yards away from her and a patio was not far from it.

She really did want to give an explanation to the intimidating girl.

Helplessly she sent a weak smile and gave a small shrug. "I-I don't know…"

If the girls eyebrow was capable of hitting her hairline it likely would have.

"Oh?"

Hinata gulped and nodded, panic suddenly consuming her as she realized she was outside and no where near the building she had spent seven years of her life. Worry gnawed at her insides when she recalled the last moments in the place…

The red-head let out a deep sigh and flipped her well kept hair behind her. "Listen, kid, I don't know why you suddenly decided to show up but you really might want to leave."

She almost wanted to deny being referred to as a 'kid' but it occurred to her that the intimidating female seemed a little older than Kin…

'_Kin…_'

Gasping she stood up hurriedly and searched the area with her eyes once more, "K-Kin!" she just barely managed to choke out while her head looked everywhere for the girl she had spent so much time with…

The mystery girl suddenly gripped her wrist and turned Hinata's face to look at her.

"Tsuchi Kin?"

Hinata blinked and nodded before she could stop herself.

The expression that crossed the girls face alerted Hinata that she might have said too much.

The girl began drag Hinata away, not towards the house or even the friendly looking patio in the corner. She was being dragged towards the tall gate that she previously had failed to take note of.

The gate in itself seemed odd, it was roughly fifteen feet in height and shined a magnificent black color that she found impossible to ignore. Shapes were painted on it, colorful dragons and ogres and…

Her breath hitched in her throat.

…youkai…

The nostalgia that nearly made her queasy, but most of all what she found her eyes drifting to again and again even as she was tugged left and right was a dark shadow…

...it was familiar…

The female dragging her began speaking and she tore her attention away from the alluring and terrifying patterns.

"How do you know Kin?" even with her back facing Hinata, she knew that she held a urgent expression.

Zabuza'a words darted through her skull and she knew the only way she could respond.

"—_a name enables you to _know_ the condition. Remember these words; it is an agreement to those who _know_…"_

"Tell me your name and I'll t-tell you mine."

She froze and slowly tore her gaze to Hinata, a minute or so passed with her staring both blankly and incredulously before an answer filled the air.

"Karin. Tsuchi Karin."

* * *

(Ending Notes: Ohh! The plots thickens!! Lol X3 at least to me it does.

For those worried, worry not! I could never kill off Zabby, Kin and Moe so soon! They're some of my favorite characters! XD XD XD

Muse-chan lounging back and wishing she didn't have to learn math.)


	4. Still Confusing

((A/N: People were saying they were missing Zabby, Kin and Moe and quite honestly I was as well, _so_ here's some special Zabby, Kin and Moe that I was planning for later…

X3 thank you guys for all the wonderful reviews!!

-SHAMELESS ADVERTISING- You know you want to read my other fic 'Untold'… come on… please?

Muse-chan out!))

* * *

**Run**

_Still Confused_

Moegi groaned; her head felt like someone attacked her with a sludge hammer…

'_What happened…?_' the last thing she recalled was the tornado…

Tornado?! She sighed; Kin must have lost her temper…

Groggily she attempted to open her eyes only to slam them shut; the light burned her eyes painfully. It took an entire minute longer before she gained the courage to squint her eyes open again.

Light was flooding from above, sunlight, she noted. Were they still outside? Where?

She sniffed; it didn't smell like the area surrounding the cabin. She shifted slowly, turning her head to the side and attempting to make out her surroundings.

It was a forest… definitely not the valley she had spent most of her life in, the trees and the birds… she'd never been here before.

'_Kin… Zabuza… Hinata…_' her vision was clearing more by the second and she was beginning to become frantic, where were Kin and Zabuza?!

"You're awake."

Moegi blinked and relaxed with a smile, despite how overbearing and terrifying the male cold be, hearing his deep voice brought untold amounts of comfort to her.

"Where is Kin?" her voice was scratchy, it was almost painful to speak.

"Alive."

She rolled her eyes; that was Zabuza for you, only giving you the absolutely necessary information.

"…what exactly happened?"

_Night was falling, darkness consuming every part of the area. This was fine, the drive home was usually such a lengthy one that they didn't get home until dark…_

…_the problem was that it was pitch black and only five o'clock._

_A growl escaped Zabuza, "They found her…" he stopped his speeding car, both Kin and Moegi were jerked forward by the force of it._

"_Wha—" Zabuza cut her off with a sharp glare._

"_Get out of the car." He was already half way out as he spoke._

_Before questions could be asked, Zabuza's wings spread out. Moegi found herself transfixed, it was the third time she had ever seen the magnificent bad-like wings._

"_Hold on." Kin and Moegi didn't need to be told twice._

_The wings spread wide and a crushing wind surrounded them before they were air-born, speeding towards the house at unhealthy speeds._

"_What's going on?" Kin demanded, her usual confident tone faltering slightly._

"_They're at the house; we can only hope Hinata-hime doesn't let them in."_

_Kin's eyes opened wide with shock, "She doesn't stand a chance! They'll be _inside_ before we even get there!"_

_Zabuza nodded grimly, increasing speed._

_If they didn't make it in time…_

_The scene they were met with upon arriving made Kin's heart drop… half the roof had collapsed, all the windows appeared to be broken and the walls looked just about ready to fall down themselves._

_It would be a miracle if Hinata survived the initial wreckage._

"_Hinata!" there was no response from the piles of rubble, all three of them began calling out for her, Zabuza brought them down and told them to search for her. The last Kin and Moegi saw of him that evening, he was letting down all of the pretenses that made him look 'human'._

_Zabuza was a demon after all._

_While they ran they could hear a battle beginning, they could only guess that Zabuza had spotted one of the infliltrators._

"_Who's here?!" Moegi cried out, the question directed at her equally panicked companion. There were many that would seek out the legend of tsubasa, the question was who had come this time._

"_Youkai… I think…" Kin replied hurriedly, pushing aside some of the crumbling walls and calling for Hinata._

"_Wrong." They both jumped and whirled to face who had spoken._

"_Akatsuki…" Moegi gasped, looking both shocked and horrified._

_The man before them obviously wasn't of any high rank in the organization, the lack of any rings proved it, but the colorful coat he adorned made it all too obvious that he was part of the organization none the less._

_Kin narrowed her eyes, a sneer forming on her lips. She was about to move when he sent three kunai towards them, they dodged easily but noticed the exploding tags a second too late._

_Moegi let out a scream as they were about to be blown to bits., her eyes clenched shut. The first thing her garbled mind acknowledged was words, not ones she could understand though. It was Kin's voice, that much she could tell, but the words were issued so fast and they were so confusing…_

_She knew that Kin was performing magic, lots of it._

_Cracking an eye open, she looked at the figure in front of her. Kin's school uniform was in shreds, barely still managing to cover the girl, her long raven hair was blowing wildly in different directions, framing her figure, and there were cuts and bruises on her arms and legs. She wasn't facing Moegi, instead she was looking at the Akatsuki member from before, he was on the ground clutching his shoulder._

_This was the first time she had seen Kin in action, she knew the older girl was a witch… but that was about all._

"_Find Hinata!" Kin whispered harshly once she had noticed Moegi with her wits about her._

_  
"Hai!"_

Moegi shook off the memories of the evening, after that was foggy… all she could really recall well was the tornado… she needed to hit Kin for that later.

Zabuza sighed, "The Akatsuki…"

Moegi growled impatiently, "I _know_ that! But how the hell did we get here?! _Where_ are we anyway?!"

Zabuza glared at her and she clamped her mouth shut, and apologized for snapping, "Kin… after the tornado, Hinata-hime's presence was gone. I'm still not sure what happened to her, I killed one of the official Akatsuki members present but the other one was a little more difficult… I got injured and Kin dragged you over, you were unconscious. Kin didn't look much better but she managed to get us out of there…"

That… was rather talkative considering who was speaking. Moegi raised an eyebrow at his detailed response, "And where are we now?"

"Zabuza-san!" Moegi turned to the voice, shocked to see a beautiful girl jogging up to them, gorgeous brown hair flowing behind her.

Zabuza stood up, "Haku, how is Kin?"

Haku winced a little, "Still not quite stable… but she's getting there. She used way too much magic…"

Zabuza sighed, it only became apparent to Moegi at this moment that he was worried about Kin.

…probably why he was so talkative.

Standing up in a rush, Moegi almost tripped when she realized how fatigued she was, "Hiya Haku-chan! I'm Moegi, it's nice to meet ya!"

There was a pause and Moegi wondered if perhaps she had said something wrong, blinking she went over her words… perhaps a bit informal but not _too_ insulting.

Haku gave her a weak smile in return, "Hai… it's nice to meet you." Still giving the same smile as before, she continued, "Demo… I'm a boy."

Moegi's friendly smile froze and an awkward silence ensued.

---

It took Hinata a moment to regain her composure and reply, "H-Hyuuga Hinata."

Karin's eyes widened and she turned around, and kept walking. It was obvious Hinata was supposed to follow.

The wall continued endlessly, the patterns and pictures still terrifying Hinata, yet she found comfort in glancing at one that reminded her of Zabuza, one she was almost positive _was_ modeled after him.

Despite the many times Zabuza told her that she shouldn't trust him, she found herself beyond fond of him. She would lay her life down easily for him. She would do so for any that lived in that cabin with her.

'…_Moegi… Kin…_'

It hurt, she was unsure what to do, all she could really do was go with the flow of things.

…and this Tsuchi Karin girl… was she related to Kin? It would explain how she knew of the other girl…

'_But they look nothing alike…_'

She missed everything about the cabin already, even the dreams and nightmares that would haunt her in the place, the feeling of uselessness that would consume her from time to time, the loneliness when they left the house, to do whatever…

She missed it all so badly and she knew she wasn't supposed to be outside.

Finally the girl seemed satisfied in how far they had walked and turned to Hinata again, "I'll ask again, how do you know Kin?"

"I-I…" what should she do? What could she tell her?

"Listen, the answer you give me will judge whether or not I call Orochimaru-sama, I'm _sure_ you've heard of him. _Especially_ considering what you said earlier…"

Her eyes were wide, Orochimaru? Zabuza told her about him… once… she had begged him to tell her a story, it was years earlier, when she was still small, and Zabuza had told the same things he always told her when she begged for a bed time story.

He told her about the Youkai.

She recalled a story of the treacherous snake demon, the coils of his tail that forever remained around the throats of those that served him.

Karin must work for him.

This was likely his abode.

She nodded, she would be honest, there was nothing else she could do…

…but she would not give more information than necessary.

"I… I was living with her."

You could almost see the cogs move in Karin's head, attempting to process the information.

"…how old is she?"

Hinata attempted to remember, they had celebrated Kin's birthday this year… she recalled that Kin was two years older than her.

"Sixteen."

Silence.

"…I'll help you… but I _will_ see Kin later."

Hinata gulped and nodded, pondering once more who Karin was to Kin.

"W-who…?"

Karin's glasses shaded, covering her brilliant maroon eyes.

"I have business with Imouto-chan. So I'll help you, no other reason."

* * *

((Ending Notes: Ack… I still don't know what to update next! DX I'm doomed to spend eternity like this! Cruel reviewers… X3 lol, hope ya'll enjoyed this chapter, I did it while I was doing chores so it might be a little sketchy, but meh, what can ya do?

Haku is introduced! Yay! I'm thinking of putting in a lil HakuKin… but then my HakuTayu fangirl jumps up in rage, demanding I put Tayuya in there… hmmm… XD lol.

BTW, as far as side couples go for this fic(though it's not a very romantic story, so there will really only be hints for side pairings) I'm thinking maybe…

InarMoe

HakuKin? HakuTayu?

Maybe some yuri?

ZabbyAnko?

SaiKar???

X3 ack, I'm so indecisive… I'll probably just write whatever comes to mind, but feel free to suggest some crack pairings! XD I'm so in the mood for crack… Try some unusual crack too! As much as I love NaruIno, it's pretty common crack… Whereas KibaIno and TayuIno are a little less common.

…how does Ino even fit into this plot?

XD I'll find a way… somehow…

Muse-chan giggling at her own stupidity and babble.))


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